Personal watercraft nose assembly

ABSTRACT

A nose assembly for attachment inside a hole in a forward portion of a personal watercraft hull comprises a rear portion having tapered sides such that the rear portion narrows in width from a first end to a second end. A first projection extends from the first end and is arranged to be inserted in a hole in the hull with the second end having a cavity in a central portion thereof. The nose assembly further includes a front portion having a rounded front end and a flat rear end. A second projection extends from the flat rear end is arranged for insertion into the cavity in the rear portion. The nose assembly may be easily removed if it should become damaged such that replacement is required

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Applicant claims priority based on his provisional patent application No. 60/528,601, filed Dec. 11, 2003.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to personal watercraft and particularly to a personal watercraft hull. Still more particularly, this invention relates to a nose assembly for preventing damage to the forward portion of a personal watercraft hull from collisions with other objects.

A problem with personal watercraft is that the hull is subject to damage from even minor collisions with other objects. The hull is designed to be as light as possible while still being able to support the weight of a person standing on the deck in addition to the mechanical components inside the hull.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A nose assembly according to the invention for a attachment inside a hole in a forward portion of a personal watercraft hull, comprises a rear portion having tapered sides such that the rear portion narrows in width from a first end to a second end. A first projection extends from the first end and is arranged to be inserted in the hole in the hull with the second end having a cavity in a central portion thereof. The nose assembly further includes a front portion having a rounded front end and a flat rear end. A second projection extends from the flat rear end is arranged for insertion into the cavity in the rear portion. The nose assembly may be easily removed if it should become damaged such that replacement is required.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified perspective view of a personal watercraft showing a hull and a nose assembly according to the invention mounted to the hull;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a rear component of a personal watercraft nose assembly according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the apparatus of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the apparatus of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a rear elevation view of the apparatus of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a front component of a personal watercraft nose assembly according to the invention;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a front elevation view of the apparatus of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is side elevation view of the apparatus of FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is cross sectional view taken along line 11-11 of FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A personalized watercraft 20 includes a hull 22 with an engine (not shown), an exhaust system (not shown) and a fuel tank (not shown). A person using the personalized watercraft 20 typically stands on a deck portion near its center and controls it by means of a control handle 24. The operating handle 24 is connected to the hull 22 by means of an arm pole 25 that is connected to an air intake assembly 26.

The hull 22 may be formed by molding any suitable material such as fiberglass, plastic etc. The hull 22 is designed to have sufficient structural strength and rigidity to support the weight of the engine, other internal components and a person standing on the deck. As such the hull 22 may be subject to damage from collisions with other objects. The forward, or nose, portion of the hull 22 is particularly subject to damage.

A nose assembly 31 is therefore attached to the forward end of the hull 22. The nose assembly 31 is preferably formed as a two-piece structure having a rear portion 32 that is mounted directly to the front of the hull 22 and a front portion 34 that is connected to the front of the rear portion 32. Both the front and rear portions of the nose assembly 31 are preferably formed of materials capable of withstanding an impact with minimal damage. Such materials include rubber, soft plastic and foam of an appropriate density.

Referring to FIGS. 2-6, the rear section 32 includes a projection 36 that extends into a cavity in the front end of the hull 22 material. The projection 36 preferably has a generally rectangular cross section so that it can fit securely within a similarly shaped cavity and be restrained against rotation relative to the hull 22. The rear section 32 itself has a generally oval cross section that tapers from the dimensions of the front end of the hull 22 to substantially smaller dimensions at its front end 38. A handle (not shown) may be included on the upper surface of the rear portion 32. The front end of the rear portion 32 includes a cavity 40 having a generally oval-shaped cross section.

The front portion 34 has a projection 42 of shape similar to that of the walls of the cavity 40. The front portion 34 is mounted to the rear portion 32 by inserting the projection 42 into the cavity 42. The front section 34 preferably has a rounded front end 44 and a rear end that matches closely with the front end of the rear portion 32.

In normal usage the front portion 34 may become dented or punctured to a degree that it should be replaced. In this case, the projection 42 on the front portion 34 is pulled out of the cavity 40 so that a new front portion may be installed.

It is also possible that the rear portion 32 will also become damaged to a degree that it should be replaced. In this case the projection 36 is removed from the corresponding cavity in the hull 22 so that a new rear portion may be installed. 

1. A nose assembly for a attachment inside a hole in a forward portion of a personal watercraft hull, comprising: a rear portion having tapered sides such that the rear portion narrows in width from a first end to a second end; a first projection extending from the first end and arranged to be inserted in the hole in the hull with the second end having a cavity in a central portion thereof; a front portion having a rounded front end and a flat rear end; and a second projection extending from the flat rear end arranged for insertion into the cavity in the rear portion. 